National drops Labour housing density deal, opts for own policy

Published date29 May 2023
AuthorAdam Pearse
Publication titleNorthern Advocate, The (Whangarei, New Zealand)
Under a National-led government, councils would be able to opt out of the Medium Density Residential Standards that allowed three-storey dwellings to be built on all residential land in the main cities

It would give councils discretion to either increase density or develop farmland — called greenfield sites — but they would be required to zone land for 30 years’ worth of housing demand in the “short term”. If they didn’t, central government would do it for them, according to National housing spokesman Chris Bishop.

A $1 billion fund for “Build-for-Growth incentive payments” would be provided to councils to deliver more new housing and would be funded by stopping programmes such as KiwiBuild.

The party also supported building at least six-storey properties near public transport hubs to boost the housing stocks in city centres.

The intention of the policy was to make up the shortfall of more than 100,000 homes and make housing more accessible to young people. However, questions remain as to how much sprawl it would cause further away from main centres and the costs of developing the infrastructure to support new housing.

Green Party urban development spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said the policy was “confused and rushed”, and believed it would worsen the inequality being driven by unaffordable housing.

“[The policy] is simply a continuation of the exact same failed approach of the 1990s that caused the very problems we have today.”

By adopting the policy, National is backtracking on its agreement with Labour in late 2021, even after Bishop said the party was still committed to it as recently as six weeks ago.

National leader Christopher Luxon revealed the move at a recent public meeting in Auckland. He said the party...

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